- Despite working full-time and having minimal pension benefits, numerous Saxons manage to prosper.
In Saxony, numerous individuals who've been contributing for decades find themselves facing the possibility of a meager pension. Based on current earnings, around 475,000 full-time workers with social security commitments would only receive a maximum pension of €1,300 after 45 years of consistent contributions, according to the government's answer to a Bundesdag member and BSW founder, Sahra Wagenknecht's query, as reported by the German Press Agency in Berlin.
However, the Federal Ministry of Labor clarifies that the assumption in the question - a steady income throughout one's career - is impractical. According to the government's response, after 40 years of insurance in Saxony, approximately 586,000 individuals would receive less than €1,300 in pension if their income remained the same as it is now.
Significant discrepancies exist regionally. After a full-time working life, many individuals in Eastern Germany confront the possibility of a pension below €1,300. Nationwide, this would affect about one-third of full-time workers - almost half in the East, as reported.
Since 2012, the standard retirement age has been incrementally raised from 65 to 67 years. To qualify for an old-age pension for long-term insured individuals, 35 years of contributions are necessary, and for the old-age pension for extremely long-term insured individuals, 45 years are required. Individuals from certain age groups can retire early without penalties before their 67th birthday if they've contributed for 35 years. For those born in 1964 or later, the retirement age remains 67 even after 35 years of contributions. In principle, one can retire earlier without penalties after 45 years of insurance.
Despite the requirement of 45 years of contributions for an old-age pension with a maximum of €1,300 in Saxony, many individuals still face the prospect of full-time employment extending well beyond their retirement due to this meager pension amount. Consequently, numerous full-time employees may need to continue working full-time employment past retirement to maintain their desired standard of living.
